C18 One Wave of Three Twists and Turns

"Little sister, you shouldn't have come back!" Dijiang's voice was tinged with warmth as he watched Houtu's anxious approach. He couldn't help but wonder why she would return on such a fateful day when the Wizard Clan faced annihilation. It would have been better to preserve even a sliver of their lineage.

"Then again, perhaps it's for the best," Dijiang mused to himself. "The Twelve Ancestral Wizards share one blood. Today, it seems right that we face our end together. But the Demon Tribe won't have it easy either!" His eyes flashed with a chilling resolve amidst his despair.

The Twelve Ancestral Wizards, born from the flesh of Pangu, possessed a divine power known as the Twelve Heavenly Divine Wizards Formation. With their combined blood essence, they could summon the true form of Pangu, formidable enough to challenge even the Saints. Yet, this desperate gambit came at a great cost. Once initiated, there was no turning back until their blood ran dry and their strength was spent, and all the Ancestral Wizards were lost.

As Dijiang was about to call upon the Ancestral Wizards to activate the formation, Houtu's voice, laced with relief, carried from a distance. "Big brother, a sage has blessed us with a way to subdue the Ten Great Golden Crows."

"What?!" Dijiang's lips quivered, barely able to trust his ears. From the depths of despair, a glimmer of hope sparked a newfound strength within him, enough to repel the attacking Golden Crows.

Seeing the urgency of the moment, Houtu wasted no time and signaled to Dayi, "Dayi, quickly!"

With a grunt, Dayi shouldered his Stone Bow and drew an arrow. "Such a light bow..." He easily pulled it to full draw, his mind scoffing at Zhang Yan's words. In the Wizard Clan, even an unripe youth could manage such a task—how could this possibly slay the son of the Demon Monarch?

Houtu, the Ancestral Witch, was known for her gentle nature and naivety. Sadly, her innocence made her an easy target for deceit.

Dijiang repelled the Golden Crow, his attention riveted on Houtu and Dayi. His eyes widened in disbelief as Dayi drew his Stone Bow.

"Is this the sage's suggested strategy?"

Bewildered, Dijiang found himself at a loss for words. A nagging doubt crept into his mind—had his little sister been deceived?

The Wizard Clan had attempted to slay the Golden Crow before, but every arrow or spear had evaporated before even nearing the creature.

A foreboding feeling took hold of Dijiang. Could the sage have been wary of the Saint, too ashamed to refuse Houtu, and thus offered a dismissive solution?

The emotional rollercoaster of plummeting hopes, a sudden surge, and then another drop was almost too much for even Dijiang, the stalwart Ancestral Witch, to withstand.

It was time to fight with everything he had!

On the battlefield's fringe, Dayi, despite his doubts and renowned as a master archer of the Wizard Clan, needed no validation of his skill.

He took aim at a Golden Crow pursuing Zhuh Rong.

Release!

"Whoosh!"

The sound of the arrow slicing through the air seemed to drain the color from the sky, with all light converging upon its feathers.

"Puchi!"

There was no flash of light, no arcane symbols—just the muffled sound of a sharp object penetrating flesh. A Golden Crow plummeted from the sky, its flames mysteriously extinguished.

An arrow had transfixed its neck, and no amount of struggle could dislodge it.

Silence enveloped the once raucous battlefield as all eyes turned to the flailing Golden Crow on the ground. Disbelief was etched on the faces of the Wizard Clan and the remaining nine Golden Crows alike.

"Did it truly bring it down?!"

Dijiang's eyes, as luminous as stars, blazed with unending brilliance as he fixed his gaze on the fallen Golden Crow, sensing the creature's life force ebbing away rapidly.

The visage of utter despair and ferocity that had once marred his face now solidified into an expression of awe-inspiring resolve.

"Roar!"

"Wizard Clan, to victory!"

The thunderous roar of the Ancestral Witch leader shook the heavens and earth, jolting the dazed survivors of the Wizard Clan into action. They too raised their weapons, echoing the battle cry with fervor.

"Victory!"

The jubilant cheers startled the nine Golden Crows. They gazed upon their fallen brethren, lying in pools of blood, and a terrifying ferocity ignited in their eyes.

"Third brother!"

"Third brother!"

Dayi stood frozen, staring in disbelief at the arrow he had released.

"Did I... did I truly bring down the son of the Demon Monarch?"

"I, Dayi, have slain a Golden Crow mighty enough to contend with an Ancestral Witch!"

Murmuring to himself, Dayi's mind flashed back to Zhang Yan's words in the courtyard.

In the art of the hunt, he was without equal in all the lands!

Was this what it meant to be a master?

To this expert, the son of the Demon Monarch, a being on par with the Ancestral Witch, was merely casual prey.

A profound respect welled up within Dayi, as the Wizard Clan held a deep reverence for strength above all other races in the vast wilderness.

"It's that wizard!"

One of the Golden Crows spotted Dayi, bow in hand, and swooped down in a vengeful dive.

"Kill him, for our third brother's sake!"

"Block them!"

Dijiang's face darkened as he bellowed the command. Houtu, standing beside Dayi, snapped him out of his stupor with a slap.

"Make it quick!"

Feeling the blistering heat wave approaching, Dayi wasted no time. He drew his bow and loosed another arrow.

"Whoosh!"

The sound of the arrow slicing through the air echoed across the battlefield.

"Dodge it!"

The Golden Crows, ever vigilant, instantly accelerated, leaving nine golden streaks trailing in the sky.

Houtu's expression shifted subtly as she glanced back at Dayi, whose face was a mask of uncertainty. She instantly understood his lack of confidence in the shot.

Houtu sighed, a sound that cut through Dayi like a knife. The master archer's skill was undeniable, capable of felling a Golden Crow, yet it was his own doubt that had led to this near defeat.

Back in that courtyard, he had been so distrustful, so insolent.

Upon this realization, the skilled archer of the Wizard Clan, a Great Wizard, flushed with embarrassment. Under Houtu's watchful eye, he desperately wished for the earth to swallow him whole.

Houtu gave a slight shake of her head, about to offer words of comfort, when a piercing shriek cut through the air, quickly followed by a chorus of cheers.

Dayi's head snapped up to survey the scene, only to see two Golden Crows already strewn across the ground, their bodies lying in crimson pools.

"Did I hit them?" Dayi questioned, incredulous. Hitting the swift Golden Crow seemed more like a fluke than skill.

"Hahaha, well done!" The distant commendation from the chief of the Twelve Ancestral Wizards caught Dayi off guard. Then, as if a realization dawned on him, he turned his attention to the Stone Bow in his grasp.

The subsequent arrows, as if to prove his suspicion, found their mark in the Golden Crows with unerring accuracy. Whether he took careful aim or not, as soon as the bow was drawn to its full extent, the arrows would strike true.

Such a bow instilled a sense of awe and fear in Dayi. As a Great Wizard of the Wizard Clan, he was no stranger to magical artifacts, yet all such treasures required the wielder's prowess to manifest their might.

But the bow in his hands possessed an intense will of its own, demanding nothing of him.

A tremor of fear ran through Dayi's heart, giving rise to a frantic thought: even without the bow, if he were to simply cast an arrow forth, it would surely pierce the heart of the Demon Monarch's son.